Driving Daze

All of us wonder at some time or another how long we will be able to drive. I recall my dad behind the wheel at age 90+ without an updated drivers liscense and when we children tried to intervene, he had a fit! My dad was a farmer and mechanically inclined, so there was no way my brothers could dismantle the pickup without Dad knowing exactly what had been done! His insurance company would not renew him, and we kids lived with baited breath, praying that he would not crash into someone and cause serious injuries. The local police were no help, they claimed that so long as they didn't catch him breaking the law, there was nothing they could do.

In my father's case it is very sad because "way back then" when my dad was very young, like 10, 11, or 12 years old, the male children were expected to be out in the fields driving the tractor and throwing hay bales into a pickup truck and driving the truck to the barn. Driving was in their blood, many men of dad's time cannot even recall NOT driving. We have pictures of my own brother driving the tractor when he was only 5 years old.

So this trip to Portland to be with my son in OHSU gave me a little taste of "elder driving". Our little town where our farm is does not even have a stop light! Seaside has plenty of lights, but we "locals" know all the shortcuts to avoid the tipsy tourists! Downtown Portland is a different story. I never realized just how different until I became a "senior driver"!

When leaving for my hotel, which was less than a mile from OHSU, my daughter in law suggested that she "follow me". A couple of blocks and I realized that this wasn't going to work, so we decided that I WOULD FOLLOW HER. As it turned out, the internet maps the hospital printed out for us were wrong, very wrong! And at some point my family and I became separated. If it hadn't of been for our Blackberries, I might still be there wandering around!

So from now on I will know my limitations. AND the limitations of Internet maps!!

A few words about my hotel. I had asked for a hearing impaired room. The hotels give a discount to families who have loved ones in OHSU. The Marriot was one of them and bingo they had a room for deafies! The first Marriot we arrived at was the wrong one. Back into the car my luggage went. (I do not travel lightly!). The 2nd Marriot was "it", finally. 'Interesting, 2 Marriots within blocks of one another. (Sigh, poor Grandma!) But there was no place to park! The nice girl at the desk, who spoke SOME English assured me that I could park in their covered, "safe and secure" parking for only $21.00. Anyone who is familiar with downtown Portland knows that it is not safe to be more than a few steps from your vehicle! So I sprung for the fancy parking spot.

The Hearing Impaired Room was a nice surprise. Almost like an apartment with a bedroom, kitchen, living room and dinette (and a huge bathroom). The bottled water was only $3.00 EACH. (Shades of Disneyland!) And I had my very own doorbell outside of my front door. Clincher: all of the strobes to the doorbell were behind doors, out of sight! That was okay, no one was going to visit me anyway.

So in ending this tale, I will assure everyone that I will be sticking closer to home from now on. Taxi's are there for a purpose!

As a footnote, there is a "tram" (like a Gondola) from OHSU to the hotel district on the waterfront for $2.00. Guess what? I passed on that! Ugh, with my poor balance I can imagine what people would think!

Until a next time, Hugs, Lantana